The characteristic feature of the type of footwear construction called a moccasin is that the vamp is continuous and integral and extends beneath the foot and is also wrapped up the side, front and back. Appropriate finishing at the ankle entry and heel of the moccasin is provided by appropriate finishing seams. An appropriate top piece or upper is provided at the front of the moccasin, is attached at the top of the vamp, preferably by hand sewing, and extends over the instep and the toes. Moccasins customarily do not provide very soft support beneath the foot, for they are generally made with soles of harder leather, and unlike the original moccasin, they frequently have rubber or leather heels attached to the sole.
To protect the underside of the vamp so it can withstand the scuffing and wear normally applied to a sole, it is customary to reinforce the sole in various ways or cover it with a thick, relative hard outer sole. Such reinforcement of the sole or beneath the lower surface of the vamp of the moccasin reduces the softness of the moccasin as the wearer walks.
Various means have been utilized for providing soft pads or auxiliary cushion soles for various types of footwear, including sandals and shoes, in which the upper is separate from the insole or the portion that passes under and in contact with the foot. An arrangemment that softens the feel of moccasins as the wearer walks is not similarly known. Thus, Peterson, U.S. Pat. No. 2,680,309 shows a sandal consisting of a platform with lace supports for the platform. Meltzer, U.S. Pat. No. 2,342,882 also shows a platfom structure for a sandal. Other U.S. patents of interest which show various attempts to provide comfort in shoes are Alianiello, U.S. Pat. No. 2,502,774; Andresen, U.S. Pat. No. 2,222,39l; Gilkerson, U.S. Pat. No. 1,852,238; Greider, U.S. Pat. No. 2,156,532; Colman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,172,217; McIntyre, U.S. Pat. No. 897,920; Auerback, U.S. Pat. No. 2,160,692; and Gilkerson, U.S. Pat. No. 1,751,990.
Despite all these attempts to solve the problem of foot comfort and solf feeling in rigid shoes, no comparable softening of a moccasin has apparently been attempted.